Computer Help-Desk Tech

by Peter Stemmler Lacks job security, requires suffering fools, poorly compensated (see more) Peter Stemmler

Don’t hate them because they’re inscrutable. These are people who love the subtle power and intricacies of computers, yet who must spend their days incarcerated in windowless rooms telephonically holding the hands of 16-bit blockheads. One computer tech in Delaware recently had an urban legend spring to life when a user called to complain, apparently in all sincerity, that his computer’s “coffee cup holder” (actually the CD drive) was broken. “We should all be issued sidearms so we can vent our frustration,” she says. It’s a lot to swallow for $35,000 a year. No matter—these jobs won’t last long in the U.S.; they’re being offshored to India in mega-numbers. RTFM indeed.